Kiss Me Deadly Analysis

Titles

The film titles are presented in an unusual way. The actual film title is displayed after many others as would be expected, but presents the name "Deadly Kiss Me". These titles being placed backwards is a break from the usual textbook title sequence. This will grab the audience's attention as it is unusual, therefore forfilling the main challenge of a successful title sequence. Also, this order could have a subtle hidden meaning, suggesting that something 'out of the ordinary' is going to happen. The titles themselves are white to stand out against the black background. The colours of this film is due to the lack of technology they had during the 1950's.

Setting/Location

The setting shown in this title sequence is cleverly chosen to emphasize the genre of the film whilst sticking to other conventions. A long stretch of road is presented with tree's either side of it. Not much is revealed which makes the audience wonder as to why the opening of the film is based here. This is later emphaszied showing a woman running down the road in her night gown. The contrast and preculearity of the setting against the womans appearence shouts out that something unusual has happened.

Cinematography/Editing

This opening sequence contains a variety of different shot types/camera angles. Following the typical conventions of a title sequence at first, close ups are used as to not give too much away, therefore sparking interest and making the viewers want to watch on. As the plot of the story is slowly being revealed, different camera shot types are used. Mid shots to show both characters interacting, long shots to show the swerving of the car etc. Filming techniques such as 'shot reverse shot' is used when the man and woman are engaging in conversation to show the reactions of both characters.

Plot

The plot of this story is not given away in this title sequence. However, this is the purpose of a successful opening sequence. It is meant to entice the audience into wanting to watch on by making them ask questions and giving them a hint of the main story. From this scene we can see that the man is going to help the woman as he has already helped her evade the police. The crime is not yet known and the man seems rather distant himself. The unusual actions of the man makes the audience want to watch on.

Characters

The characters are introduced in a kind of hostile manner. The woman is running down a long country road and darts in front of the mans car to try and get him to stop. Rather than stop he swerves out of her way and seems more concerned with the condition of his car than if she was okay. This tells the audience that he isnt very sensitive and is materialistic. When in the car the woman is panting hard and the man still does not ask any questions. The fact that he will give a panicked woman a lift without asking any questions gives off the impression that he is an eery character.

Genre

The genre of this film is Thriller. We can identify this from the conventions used in the opening sequence. A typical convention of a thriller is the fact that clues are continuously given out to make the audience wonder as to what is going on. It slowly leads them into the plot, and does this via the introduction/interaction between the two main characters. The lack of conversation and the complexity of the situation keeps the audience interested and makes it clear to see that this film is a thriller. Also, the titles themselves suggest that this film is a thriller. The titles are large, bold and presented in an unusual way. This could be a connotation for a situation that will be 'out of the ordinary'.